Maria Sharapova praises Christina McHale for her persistent resistance in Rome – Tennis News
Defending champion, Maria Sharapova commenced her Internazionali BNL d'Italia with a tight win over the American tennis star, Christina McHale, who at one stage was leading the first set 4-1 but the Russian fought back into the
contest with three successive breakthroughs to survive the scare. Final scores of the match were 7-5, 7-5.
In a post-match interview, the number two player in the world stated, “I made too many unforced errors in the first part. She made me hit a lot of balls and perhaps I tried too many winners and so I was fortunate to get back into
the second set.”
While praising the young talented American competitor, she mentioned, “She has improved and is more consistent and has two different strokes — her forehand she likes to loop up and her backhand is more of a flatter one. She moves
pretty well, and she makes you hit a lot of ball and her consistency has the capacity to get back on the ball. I think she has certainly beaten top players in the past years, and she is rising in her game.”
Sharapova believes that the youngster has showed great promise and will have a very bright future in tennis. She also stated that McHale’s ability to absorb pressure and not come under the influence of big players has boosted her
winning rate especially against the big guns. The Russian wished her the best of luck for the future campaigns.
World number two is eager to reclaim the number one spot in the world. She had a golden opportunity to do that in the Mutua Madrid Open but the former world number one, Serena Williams, trounced everyone in her way to claim the
title. She must defend her title in Rome to sustain the point’s difference and not allow the gap to creep in.
If she manages to win the title in Rome, she will have another chance at the Roland Garros French Open to rise up to the number one ranking in the world. She has already squandered an opportunity in the final of the Australian
Open, earlier this year, and that increases her urge to perform the heroics and stun everyone again just like she did, almost eight years ago in 2004 when she defeated the in-form number one American, Serena Williams, in the final.
It is a hectic but glory filled clay court season ahead for the Russian who looks to dethrone the Belarusian world number one, Victoria Azarenka.
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